As the U.S. battles to limit the spread of the contagious new coronavirus, the number of health care workers ordered to self-quarantine because of potential exposure to an infected patient is rising at a rapid pace. In Vacaville, Calif., alone, one case, the first documented instance of community transmission in the U.S. ,left more than 200 hospital workers under quarantine and unable to work for weeks.
With the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases growing by the day, a continued quarantine response of this magnitude would quickly leave the health care system short-staffed and overwhelmed. The situation has prompted debate in the health care community about just what standards medical facilities should use before ordering workers quarantined and what safety protocols need to become commonplace in clinics and emergency rooms.
Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
The correct response comes down to a careful balance of the evolving science with the need to maintain a functioning health care system.
While hospitals are supposed to be prepared for just such a situation, Nuzzo says, their plans often fall short. "Absent any imminent public health crisis, it may not be one of their priorities," she says.
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